Advent 1 - 1 December 2019 - Year A

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for our meditation is written in the 13th Chapter of the Book of Romans: Verses 9 - 14:

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13 let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling; and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The Season of Advent is upon us.  We contemplate the coming of our Lord.  He has come in a Virgin's womb, laid in a manger.  He comes today, in His Word and His Body and Blood.  He will come again on clouds of glory with His angels to judge the living and the dead.

How shall we prepare for His coming?

The Holy Spirit through St. Paul instructs us.  He writes, "It is high time to awake out of sleep."  The Apostle speaks of that spiritual sleep which we experience by living in sin and being inactive in good works.  He does not speak of those who are altogether dead in sin and unbelief.  No, He speaks of Christians who are sluggish in our faithful service of good works in Jesus name and, overcome by a feeling of security, are falling asleep.

To be sure, Paul does not speak of earning or maintaining our salvation by good works.  God's gift of life is by grace, through faith, from beginning to end.

Yet if a Christian becomes completely unconcerned about good works and sins without restraint, they may throw away the faith they once received.  If they persist in sin without repentance, they reject the Spirit and His work.  It is to such unconcerned Christians, who are sluggish but not completely dead, that Paul writes.

Those who are not concerned about their spiritual life may have a form of godliness.  They may have a kind of external righteousness, yet their heart is far from God.  They feel secure, yet lack the fear of God and true reverence.

It is not really about how good you are.  It is whether you feel the burden of your sins and repent of them.  As St. Bernard wrote, "He who does not hurry to repent without ceasing, declares in reality that he does not need repentance."  The reality is that if we do not need repentance, we also do not need mercy.  If we do not need mercy, then we do not need salvation.

Out of love, Paul calls for us to be on our guard and heed the warning to awake out of sleep.  For we are all vulnerable to complacence and hardening against repentance.

As sinful human beings we can not rightfully lay claim to being righteous, in doing so would be a delusive ego trip that imagines us equal with Jesus.  Instead, let us confess our sins without ceasing.

When the Apostle speaks of casting off the works of darkness, he is not so much speaking of doing better by living a more godly life.  To be sure, we ought to try to live as righteous a life in our deeds as we can.  But the Apostle primarily means to cast off the works of darkness by repentance, that is, sorrow over sin along with faith in Christ.  Our efforts cannot succeed in getting rid of the works of darkness.  At best, we can only delude ourselves into believing that we have cleaned up our lives.  But the true victory over sin is by rejecting the efforts and merits of ourselves, and trusting only in the works of Christ.

We cannot trust in our goodness because the influence of the evil one on our weak human nature is profound and very deceitful.  It does not necessarily lead to things that are obviously evil, such as fornication, adultery, and murder.  In many instances our works are regarded as good by many around us, yet can be based on less than good intentions because of the inward, spiritual darkness that comprises our human nature.  That is why, if left to ourselves, we could not succeed, no matter what great efforts we put into our self-improvement.  Our sinful heart would always betray us.

But Christ is able to save even us sinners.  He has given us exactly what we need.  He has given us the armour of light.

We need armour because we live in the Church militant.  Although we have peace with God, which is the most important peace of all, yet we have warfare in this life against satan and the world and our sinful flesh.  We must be well-equipped for this battle.

What is this armour of light?  It is actually the Lord Himself, since Paul says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ."  He, the new Adam in us, is the armour of light that defends us against all evil.

We first put Him on at our Baptism, as Paul also writes.  Since we were Baptised into Christ, we are covered with Him as with armour.  What better defence could there be than to be washed in the Blood of Christ?  What better armour could there be than to be buried with Christ into death and raised with Him?  What better defence than salvation and forgiveness of sins that are given in the washing of regenerating blood of Christ?

How do we use this armour?  As the new Adam is daily renewed in the image of Christ, the Holy Spirit will first of all be guiding and strengthening us to avoid the deeds of darkness.

What are these deeds?  Paul lists revelry and drunkenness, lewdness and lust, strife and envy. This is certainly not a complete list of sins, for there are many other such vices, with which we are daily confronted. Against these works of the flesh, the Spirit fights within us.

When we find ourselves in sinful behaviours such as these, then the Spirit does His main work, and the armour of light becomes most useful.  For we are able to return to our Baptismal waters by sorrow for our sins.  In repentance, we find forgiveness for all our failures.  In faith, we trust in His strength, not our own.  For we do not fight alone.  The power of Christ, the Light of life, is with us.  We depend upon His Blood to cleanse us, not our efforts at self-improvement.

It is here that Paul calls for us to wake from complacency and search our live and ways.  Do we find any trace of drunkenness or gluttony? Sexual desires or any kind of unchastity encouraged by our society?  Do we find ourselves not living in peace and love with our fellow believers?  Have we envied or coveted, so that jealousy turns love bitter?

All or any of these things may trouble the Christian’s conscience.  Our weak human nature cannot be immune to all vices, unless we are already living in the presence of Christ in Paradise.  Yet we should not ignore these vices when they find a foothold in our lives.  We should struggle and fight, as the Spirit works in us against all works of darkness.

Most importantly, and very appropriately during this season of Advent, we should return in repentance to Christ.  This is the season to make ‘Advent resolutions’; to make use of private confession, which is a treasure beyond price; to be spiritually nurtured in Divine Worship Service, as well as Bible Study; to earnestly seek our needs and guidance in personal prayer. In these places, repentance meets the divine mercy of Christ.  Our sins are forgiven by His innocent suffering and death.  Our spiritual life, so prone to slumber, is raised by the power of His Spirit, who works in this Gospel.

For the ‘Church of our community’, the Fellowship of Believers, the Gathering of Saints, is our House of Light, where the Light of the ages, who is the exact image of the Father's glory, swallows up our darkness.  He has carried all our evil works on His shoulders to Calvary.  His mighty work has overcome our sins. Through the ‘Water and the Word’ and His  ‘Body and Blood’ He gives us all the benefits of His crucifixion, and raises us to new life.

This is the place that the Light comes among us to defend us by His grace.  He has come to be with us, and even now is among us, speaking words of light.  He Himself makes us ready for the Day when He shall return openly to take us home.

The Lord keep us in repentance and faith until that Day, to awaken us once and for all at the Resurrection of all flesh.  In His Name alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Christ the King - 24 November 2019 - Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for our meditation is written in the 23^rd Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 27– 43:

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸ But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³ When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 In the 9^th Chapter of Luke; Verse 51; we read “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem”. These words begin the journey narrative that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to include in his account of the Gospel.  For nearly fourteen chapters, Luke has enabled us to journey along with Jesus as He made His way to Jerusalem.  There have been miracles, great teachings, interesting parables, and many other such occurrences, but always, in the background, there is the journey …  the journey to Jerusalem … the journey to keep that appointment with a cross.  In today’s Gospel, we heard how Jesus kept His appointment.  ^{(Luke 23:32–33)} “Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left”.

These events were no surprise to Jesus.  He regularly took His disciples aside and forewarned them: ^{(Luke 18:31–33)} “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³²For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”He also spoke to other people like Nicodemus ^{(John 3:14)} and said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” There can be no doubt that Jesus knew exactly what waited for Him in Jerusalem.  Still, undeterred, He did not try to avoid it, but ^{(Luke 9:51)”}He set his face to go to Jerusalem”.

The Holy Spirit in His infinite knowledge and perfect wisdom elected to divide the narrative of the crucifixion up between the four accounts of the Gospel.  Each of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John add something special to our understanding of the events of that day.  This morning, we heard Luke focus on the words of forgiveness that Jesus spoke from the cross.

I am certain that members of the crucifixion squad heard all kinds of words out the mouths of their victims … cursing, begging, cries of anguish; we can only imagine.  Even so, I would expect that none of the soldiers had ever heard someone pray for them when they crucified him.  How strange it must have been to hear one of the victims say, ^{(Luke 23:34)} “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiveness was probably the last thing they expected from one of their victims.

These words of Jesus have incredible comfort for the sensitive soul who knows that he or she sins more often than they know.  Can I really receive forgiveness for a sin even if I don’t even notice that it is a sin?  Here we see Jesus praying for the forgiveness of executioners who do not know what they are doing.

The Rev Dr Martin Luther has related the situation from his childhood church experiences through to the Reformation in the early part of the 16^th century.  The person who went to confession had to confess all his or her sins.  If you left out a sin, that was more purgatory for you.  Before Luther discovered the Gospel, he drove his father confessor crazy.  If he was leaving confession and remembered a sin, he would immediately turn around and go back to confession.  He wanted to make sure that he had as few unconfessed sins as possible.  What a comfort it would have been to him to know that the very first words of forgiveness that Jesus offered up on the cross were words of forgiveness to people everywhere who did not even know that they had sinned.

We now live in a time where after many centuries of theological debate, it is the Confessional Rite of Sacramental Christian denominations, during worship services, where “Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord's Prayer”.  After all, it is impossible to recount all sins, ^{Psalm 19:12} “Who can discern his errors?”  and ^{Jeremiah 17:9} tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”. If only sins that can be named are forgiven, consciences could never find peace. We can confess and receive forgiveness even for sins that we don’t know about even as Jesus Himself forgave the sins of those soldiers who crucified Him.

The other word of forgiveness that Luke recorded in today’s Gospel went to the criminal who occupied the cross next to Jesus.  This was a man who knew about his sin.  He confessed for himself and the other criminal and said, ^{(Luke 23:41)} “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds.”  With these words, he basically confessed that he had earned his place on his cross with his crimes.  Jesus assured him of his forgiveness.  He said to him, ^{(Luke 23:43)} “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The words of Jesus to the criminal have comfort for those who wonder if they are too evil to receive forgiveness.  The criminal who admitted that he deserved crucifixion had to have done something terrible.  Rome did not crucify people for having overdue library books or unpaid parking tickets.  This criminal must have been a murderer or something along those lines.  Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I think the roof would cave in if I ever entered a church?”  You can give the comfort of Jesus’ words to that person.  You can tell them that the God ‘incarnate’ (embodied in human form) who died on the cross also died for them, renders no sin more powerful than God’s forgiveness.  The primary purpose for this service is for God to serve us with the forgiveness of sins.  In this divine service, God serves us with His forgiveness which is infinitely more powerful than any sin you or I may have committed.

So, it is that in these few brief words from the account of Jesus dying on the cross, we have a powerful demonstration of what it means that the forgiveness of sins is for everyone.  This is what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to say in today’s epistle: ^{(Colossians 1:19–20)} “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross”. These words teach us that the blood of Christ on the cross reconciled all things to God.  All things definitely includes all people.  It includes the criminal dying on the cross next to Christ and it includes you and me … no matter what sin burdens us with its guilt. 

Here we learn the alternative to the terror of God’s fiery wrath against our sin.  When Jesus went to the cross, He endured the wrath of God against our sin.  He satisfied God’s justice on our behalf.  He adopted us into His family.  He made it possible for us to stand before God and see – not the terrifying judge of the law – but a loving Father.  Through Jesus we receive – not the eternal punishment we deserve – but life forever in the joy of His presence.  He has given us the right to be called the children of God and follow Him in His resurrection to eternal life.

Today is the last Sunday of the church year; the day we celebrate “Christ the King”.  During this church year we have focused primarily on the Gospel according to Luke.  Yes, we have heard from Matthew, Mark, and John from time to time, but most of the Gospels for this year were taken from Luke.  Next Sunday, we will start a new church year that focuses on the Gospel according to Matthew.

During this year, Luke has given an account of Christ that shows us a great journey.  The journey is a round trip.  It began as the Son of God descended from His Heavenly throne to take on our human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  It ended as the same Son of God ascended to the right hand of the Father back to His Heavenly throne.  During this journey, He redeemed mankind from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  He made it possible for us to stand before God without fear.  Christ’s journey opened up the way to heaven for all who believe in His name.  For those who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, the way of life leads – not to a day of terror – but to an eternity of heavenly joy.  

With confidence we can daily petition our Lord and Saviour; “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”; and when the time is right, we will joyfully hear His reply, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Amen.

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 23 – 17 November 2019 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 21^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 5 –19:

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” ⁷ They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. ⁹ “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹ there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.¹² “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³ This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; ¹⁵ for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Let us pray: Father guide the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts, that we may hear you message to us that it may be a guiding light and a source of hope in our lives. Amen

We may not like it, we may deny it, we may resist it, but the reality is things are changing. Our world is changing, the church is changing, our lives are changing. Sometimes changes are welcome. But there are days when change brings loss or the fear of loss. There are days when our life is forever changed, the world is different, and nothing is like it used to be. You and I know those days. We could each tell stories about those days. They are stories about the death of a loved one, the diagnosis, a divorce, the business that failed, the job that was lost. They are stories about the day you realised the life you were living was not the life you wanted, the day someone confronted you with your addiction, the day you became the parent and caretaker to your own parent. They are stories of dreams and hopes that never came true.

These are the days when the temples of our life and world fall. It is not just our individual temples, however. As a parish we are having to face the reality that the members are ageing. Attendance and income are down. It cannot continue like it is and it will never be like it used to be. The temple of our Parish is falling. For many people the Anglican Church is not the church they remember. It is not like it used to be when they were growing up. Things have changed. For them the temple is falling. As a country the temple of our economic system is threatened by drought and low interest rates. We can no longer count on investments that will grow every year. The job market is unstable. Globally we read of wars, natural disasters, famines. Nations have risen against nation, kingdom against kingdom, even religion against religion. Security, peace, and diplomacy have given way to fear, violence, and terrorism. Temples are falling everywhere.

We all have temples. Some have been given to us, others we have built for ourselves. Sometimes our temples are people, places, values and beliefs, institutions, dreams. Regardless, they are the things that we think structure and order our lives, give meaning and identity, provide security and stability. At least we think they do, until they fall.

In today’s gospel some were speaking about the temple, its beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God. It is what structured their community. It gave identity and meaning. It was the centre of Jewish life. Jesus looks at it and says, “The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” Jesus is speaking about more than just the physical temple in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem temple includes every temple you and I have.

So what do we do on the day our temple falls?

Change has a way of pushing us into the future. Many people will begin looking for signs about the future. What will happen now? What do I do? How do I get through this? If we are not careful we will soon be living in a future we do not yet have. We will be living in a future created in our heads; a future that causes us anxiety; for some despair. That is not Jesus’ response. When Jesus describes things that will happen he is not asking us to speculate about the future. He is offering signs that call us to be faithful in the present.

Sometimes, after our temple falls, we look for a scapegoat, someone or something to blame or even demonise. So we blame Moslems for violence in the world and climate protestors for disrupting our society. Liberal and Labor politicians blame each other as do the Ultra Conservatives and the Greens. We look to lay the blame on someone or a group who does not think, act, or believe like we do. That is not Jesus’ response.

Some people will simply give up and walk away in despair. They can see nothing left. All is lost and the situation is hopeless. That is not Jesus’ response. Some will become angry, resentful, and fight back. Others will say this is God’s will or maybe even God’s punishment. Many will look for easy answers, quick fixes, something that will prop up the old structures and ways of doing things. Again, these are not Jesus’ response.

Jesus’ response is just the opposite. Be still, be quiet, do not be led astray. Do not allow your life to be controlled or determined by fear. Do not listen to the many voices that would cause you to run and go after them. Endure he says. Be faithful, steadfast, persevere here and now. Jesus is calling us to be present and faithful in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. If we cannot find God here, in our present circumstances, even in the midst of our temple ruins, we will find God nowhere. ^{Psalm 46: 10} “Be still, and know that I am God”

The place of fallen temples is the place in which God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, declares: ^{(Isaiah 65:17-19)} “I am about to create new heavens and new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress”. 

Those promises are fulfilled through our endurance and prayer. By endurance and prayer we gain our lives, our souls. Jesus is calling us to the virtue of stability. We are to remain fully present, faithful, no matter how uncomfortable life may be. In so doing we discover that God has always been with us – in the changes, chances, and chaos of life; in the pain, loss, and disappointment; in the destruction of our temples. The fullness of God in the form of the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us when we felt the cool waters of Holy Baptism and the words were spoken “I baptise you in the name of God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit”.

Endurance, perseverance, stability and heartfelt prayer are the ways in which we offer God the fallen stones of our temples. Stone by stone God rebuilds our life. Stone by stone God restores the original beauty of our life and world. Stone by stone a new temple arises from the rubble. Stone by stone we become the temple of God. We no longer have temples. We no longer need them. We are the temple. That is the story that needs to be told. That is our opportunity to testify.

We can all tell the story of the day our temple was destroyed. Too often, however, we believe and live as if that is the end of the story. It will be if we run away, scapegoat, respond with anger, or try to put it back together like it used to be. But it does not have to be the end of the story. The greater story is how we discovered God next to us in the temple ruins and how, stone by stone, God rebuilt what we could not. It is the ongoing story of God recreating life out of loss and ruin, a story of God rejoicing and delighting in his people.

This story is the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to us. The story how Jesus died for our sins as our substitute on the Cross of Calvary and rose again to overcome death that we may have forgiveness and eternal life, and assures us with the promise “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  It is real, sacred, and true. Trust that story, tell it over and over to yourself, proclaim it to all you see, and then go live that story.

Psalm 46 reassures us: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging’

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 22 – 10 November 2019 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 

The text for this meditation is written in the 20^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 27–40:

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Afterward the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons^] of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

One of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to Christians is the ability to understand the Scriptures.  Unbelievers do not have this gift … as the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write: ^{[2 Corinthians 3:13–16]} “[Moses] would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains un-lifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶ But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”.  The Holy Spirit also inspired Luke the Evangelist to describe the teaching of Jesus with these words: ^{[Luke 24:45]} “Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”.  So we see that believers have minds that are open to understanding the Scriptures and unbelievers have veiled minds toward the Scriptures.  Today’s Gospel demonstrates the lies that the veiled mind can believe when it rejects the teachings of the Bible.

In past readings, the Gospel according to Luke has introduced us to the veiled mind of the Pharisee.  The Pharisees had developed a group of laws called the “Tradition of the Elders”.  The Tradition of the Elders had over six hundred laws that were their own written appendices to the “Laws of Moses” (The Torah)handed down by God himself and found in the first five books of the Old Testament.  At first, it might seem that the Pharisees were making things harder than they needed to be.  In fact, these ‘Traditions’ was a demonstration of the arrogance of the Pharisees who thought that they were authorised to extend the laws God handed down to Moses in the first five Books of the Bible.  These ‘Traditions’ were written so as to provide ‘loop-holes’ that gave the appearance that they could achieve the impossible task of keeping God Laws.  These ‘loop-holes’ gave the Pharisees the impression that they could earn their own way into heaven.

Today’s Gospel records an encounter between Jesus and a different group … the Sadducees.  The Sadducees were very different from the Pharisees.  Instead of trying to work their way into heaven, the Sadducees simply denied the existence of life after death.  The Sadducees denied the existence of heaven, hell, angels, and most of the other things that belong in the spiritual realm.  They pretty much believed that this life is all that there is.

Under ordinary circumstances, the Pharisees and the Sadducees did not get along.  The Pharisees were busy earning their way into heaven and the Sadducees were always trying to show that there is no heaven.  Both of these groups were wrong and both of them show the veiled thinking of those who reject the teachings of Holy Scripture.

The encounter in today’s Gospel is part of the account of Jesus in the temple just a few days before He died on the cross.  The temple authorities had already decided that Jesus must die.  They just didn’t quite know how to arrest Jesus without causing a riot among the Passover Pilgrims.  For the time being they were sending various delegations to Jesus to see if they could get Him to make some sort of mistake that would lower His standing among the people.  If they could embarrass Him in front of the people, then perhaps, they could arrest Him without incident.  As Jesus taught in the temple, many tried to embarrass Him in debate, but they the only thing they managed to do was embarrass themselves.  So far, no one had been able to trip Jesus up.  Today’s Gospel tells of the last group who came to the debate with Jesus … the Sadducees.

The Sadducees tried to show that eternity does not make sense based on the teaching of ‘levirate marriage’.  Levirate marriage has nothing to do with the tribe of Levi.  Instead, it is part of the social and economic safety net in that culture.  It was also a statute that Moses had established for the Nation of Israel.  If a husband died without an heir, the nearest male relative was to take the widow as his wife.  The first heir born to this union would become the legal heir of the dead husband.  Ordinarily, the nearest male relative was a brother to the dead husband.  In this way, the name and property of the dead husband would be preserved into the next generation.

The Sadducees come up with a rather wild hypothetical circumstance about seven brothers who are in turn married to the same woman by virtue of the statute of levirate marriage.  Then they ask Jesus to determine which brother will be the woman’s husband in eternity.

Their question demonstrated the veil that covered their mind.  They simply assumed that life in eternity would be the same as life is here in time.  They were unable to grasp the idea that eternity might be totally different than their experience here on this earth.

Many people still have this problem today.  They may not even know what levirate marriage is, but they still tend to make up their own truth based on their own ideas and feelings.  We hear people say something like, “A loving god wouldn’t really let people suffer in hell forever.”  Then they try to come up with alternative ideas.  “Maybe there isn’t a hell.”  “Maybe we only suffer in hell for a short time and then all people go to heaven.”  Some people promise their followers that they will become gods in their own right and rule over their own planet.  All of this is just the imagination of those who reject Scripture.  Their problem is that they are trying to learn about eternity based on their experience in this world of time.  They are stuck because their minds are covered by a veil just as much as the Sadducees who challenged Jesus.  This is nothing other than the blind leading the blind.

The worst thing about our veiled minds is that they do not just affect us here in time, but they also affect us for eternity.  The Word of God teaches that our veiled minds place us under the power of the devil.  It teaches that our veiled minds deliver us up to sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.  It teaches that those who live with veiled minds in time will suffer forever in eternity.

We all begin our life in time with a veil over our minds.  This is the sad reality of our inheritance of sin from Adam and Eve.  When they sinned in Eden, they corrupted the human race and so we enter this world with minds that are already veiled.  We are stuck with veiled minds until someone or something comes to remove the veil … to open our minds to understand the Scriptures.

The only one who can open our minds is the one who comes from eternity into our time.  Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who entered our time by taking on our human flesh.  He is the one who opens minds to understand the Scriptures.

Jesus replied to the Sadducees by reminding them of the instructions that God gave, not only to Adam and Eve, but also to Noah and his family: ^{[Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:1]} “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”  The primary objective of marriage is to propagate the human race.  The husband and wife are not only to produce children, but the husband is to sacrifice himself for the well-being of his wife and children so that his children will grow up in a God-pleasing, loving, nurturing, and safe environment. (Ephesians 5:25) The wife in turn is to receive her husband’s service with thanksgiving and respect (Ephesians 5:22) so that parents may work together to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Since the human race multiplies here in time, the role of marriage is fulfilled here in time.  There is no need for marriage in eternity.  The Sadducees elaborate scenario is irrelevant.  It is without substance.  It simply shows how their minds are veiled.

Jesus then went on to open their minds even more.  He demonstrated the reasonable nature of the resurrection from the dead.  He recalled the words that He spoke to Moses from the burning bush.  The pre-incarnate Son of God spoke to Moses and said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  Then Jesus proclaimed that the true God is God of the living, not the God of the dead.  With these words, He not only refuted the Sadducees question, but He also showed that their rejection of the resurrection did not make sense given how God identified Himself to Moses.

Just a few days after this debate with the Sadducees, Jesus would demonstrate the reality of the resurrection by rising from the dead Himself.  Jesus is the only figure in all of history to predict not only His death, but also His resurrection from the dead.  Jesus regularly and clearly taught that evil men would arrest Him and kill Him.  It is not all that unusual for a martyr to predict his own death.  But the promise that Jesus then gave was unusual.  He promised that He would rise from the dead and He kept His promise.

The temple authorities were never able to embarrass Jesus in debate, but they did get their wish.  One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas, offered to betray Jesus to them.  Finally, they had a way to arrest Jesus without causing a riot.  Judas betrayed Jesus into their hands.  They quickly convicted Jesus in a “kangaroo court,” and backed the Roman governor into a political corner so that on the Friday after Jesus encountered the Sadducees, He was hanging on a cross.  As He hung on that cross, He paid for the sins that veil our minds.  He redeemed us from the power of the devil and claimed us as His own.  He surrendered His life to save us from eternal death.

Then, on the first day of the week, He demonstrated the truth of the resurrection.  He rose from the dead and showed Himself to His disciples.  With His resurrection, He demonstrated that He is indeed the God of the living.  He gave us the eternal promise that those who die in Him will rise again and live with Him forever.  Through the waters of Holy Baptism we have been graciously empowered with the gift of the Holy spirit, the source of our faith and trust; and we who trust in Jesus have already joined Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Though we die, we shall live again with Jesus in eternity.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen